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I
was strolling in Makati one day when I saw a small Korean grocery store and I
went inside out of curiosity. Oh boy, I’m glad I did go inside otherwise I
won’t be able to discover this amazing tea that is now a staple in my tea collection.
The tea I’m talking about is called Genmaicha
which is the Japanese word for “brown rice green tea”. It is also known as Hyeonmicha in Korean.

Genmaicha
is a type of Japanese green tea that is mixed with roasted brown rice kernels.
Yes, you might think the combination is unusual but there is actually a little
bit of history behind the invention of this tea. During ancient Kyoto days,
most people can’t afford to buy pure green tea. One day, a tea farmer had
decided to use roasted brown rice as fillers to reduce the price of green tea,
therefore making it more affordable to most people at that time.

Unlike
the bitter and grassy taste of pure green tea, genmaicha has more pleasant
nutty flavor which is attributed to the starch and sugar present in the brown rice.
So if you’re not a fan of drinking green tea because of its bitterness, then
genmaicha is something you should try for a start. What I like the most about
genmaicha is its deep aroma that smells like newly cooked rice, I can’t help
but to sniff my tea as I drink it. Moreover, genmaicha (being not a pure green
tea) contains less caffeine and is less acidic compared to other teas. As a
point of comparison, genmaicha has 4mg of caffeine per cup (250ml) compared to 42mg
per cup of black tea, so drinking genmaicha before sleeping won’t be a problem.
Contrary to its name, genmaicha is not color brown or green, rather it has a
light yellow color.

Health Benefits of Genmaicha

Boost Immune System

Since
genmaicha is a type of green tea, it is rich in antioxidants that can help
strengthen your immune system. It contains polyphenols
and flavonoids which are both known
as disease-fighting antioxidants that can protect your body against common
diseases.

Reduce Risk of Cancer

Genmaicha
contains high amount of catechin
compound called epigallocatechingallate
(EGCG) that has the ability to suppress cancer cells. In fact, there was a
study that shows that women who drink any variant of green tea regularly has reduced
risk of getting breast cancer.

Increase Metabolism

The
same EGCG catechin in genmaicha also
has anti-obesity effect. It reduces the body weight by increasing the rate at
which your body burns fat.

Relieve Stress

One
of the active ingredients of genmaicha is an amino acid called theanine that is known to promote
relaxation. Unlike chamomile tea, genmaicha doesn’t have a sedative effect. It
will not help you fall asleep. It will only help you calm down your nerves
during a very stressful day.

Brewing Time and Temperature

For tea bags: Steep one tea bag in a cup of hot water (with a
temperature of 80 – 85 C / 176-185 F) for 1 – 2 minutes.

For loose leaves: Put a teaspoon of tea leaves in a cup of hot
water (with a temperature of 80 – 85 C / 176-185 F). Steep for 1 – 2 minutes,
then strain out the leaves using a small strainer.

Where to Buy Genmaicha in the Philippines

Genmaicha
can be bought in most Korean or Japanese grocery stores in the country. You can
also buy them from Han Mart via Shopee.

P.S.
To always get the latest blog updates, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook.

My
definition of a perfect movie/TV snack is a large bag of salty potato chips.
Potato chips are so addictive that I keep on dipping my hands into the chip bag
until it is empty and I’m still left craving for more. Indeed, the Pringles famous slogan about potato
chips is correct - “once you pop, you can’t stop”. Luckily, there are ways to
satisfy our cravings for salty snacks like store-bought potato chips and you
won’t believe how easy it is to make it at home using just a common kitchen
gadget – a microwave oven. I’m talking about making healthy crispy carrot chips
in a microwave. Let’s dig into the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients

Carrots

Olive
oil

Salt
and pepper (for seasoning)

Instructions

Peel the carrots and slice them as thinly as possible using either a knife or a mandolin. The thinner the slices, the crispier the chips will be and the cooking time will be faster.

Drizzle some oil into the carrots and season with salt and pepper. Make sure that all carrot slices are evenly coated with oil and seasonings.

Arrange the carrot slices in single layer on a microwavable plate. Don’t overcrowd the plate.

Microwave at full power in 30 seconds interval until the carrot slices are dry, crispy and a little bit brown (not burnt). Depending on the power (watts) of the microwave and how thin the slices are, it will take approximately 2-4 minutes for the chips to cook.

Serve while hot.

Arrange the carrot slices in single layer on a microwavable plate

Note:

It’s
very important that you pay attention while cooking the carrot chips as they
easily get burn. Also, since the carrot slices are uneven in sizes, some of the
pieces will cook faster and must be removed from the microwave as soon as they
have turned a little bit brown. Again, cooking time may vary depending on the
power of your microwave oven so you may need to experiment the first time you
do this recipe.

I
love how the carrot chips had turned out, they’re sweet and salty in taste and
crispy. The good thing about homemade chips is you can control the amount of
salt that you put into it so it won’t be as salty as commercial chips.

This
microwave veggie chips recipe is not limited to carrots. In fact, you can also follow
the same recipe with potato, sweet potato, zucchini and eggplant. Just like
store-bought potato chips come in variety of flavors, you can be creative with
the seasonings you use in your homemade veggie chips. Some of the herbs and
spices that you can use for seasonings are cinnamon, rosemary, thyme, cayenne
pepper, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, flavored salts, among
others. The veggie chips can be eaten as is and are also equally great when
partnered with a dip (e.g. vinegar, yoghurt).

Have
you tried making homemade veggie chips in a microwave? Which vegetables and
seasonings have you used? Share it on the comment section below J

P.S.
To always get the latest blog updates, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook.

For
several years, I have been a big fan of The
Body Shop’s line of luxurious body butters that come in variety of scents.
The only thing I don’t like about it is the price. It’s quite expensive for a
small tub of body butter. I use body butter like lotion so a small tub only lasted
less than a month for me. So when I found out how easy it is to create a
customized body butter, I did not hesitate to give it a try. It is also more
cost-efficient since you can buy 500g of shea butter for less than a thousand
pesos and that is enough to make several batches of body butter.

First
of all, there are actually two types of body butter. The first one is the emulsion
body butter which contains water in the ingredient so it is thinner in
consistency and less greasy. The Body
Shop’s body butters are good example of the emulsion type. The other type
is the anhydrous body butter which doesn’t contain water so it is
thicker, creamier and a little bit greasy. For this DIY project, I’ll be doing
the anhydrous version because it is less complicated than the emulsion type.

The
anhydrous body butter is a moisturizing skincare product that consists mainly
of butters, carrier (vegetable) oils, fragrance/essential oils and antioxidants.
Since it doesn’t contain water, it doesn’t need a preservative. However, be
very careful that you don’t contaminate the product by accidentally introducing
water into the body butter during the process of making or using it.

The
star ingredient of this recipe is the shea butter. Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea
tree. It is rich in fatty acids, most especially oleic acid that has skin
softening properties making it an effective emollient.
Shea butter is also high in antioxidants like vitamin A and E which help
prevent signs of skin aging (e.g. wrinkles, fine lines, etc.). Most people find
shea butter greasy but it is the richness of this butter that makes it an ideal
moisturizer for people with dry or aging skin.

It
is important to know that shea butter is available in two variants: unrefined (raw)
and refined. Unrefined raw shea butter has a strong nutty smell (which
some people don’t like) and light yellow in color. Meanwhile, refined shea
butter has very minimal scent and creamy white in color. Selecting which
shea butter to use is a matter of personal preference. Personally, I prefer to
use the refined version because it has less tendency to get grainy in texture (a
typical problem of any butter).

For
the carrier (vegetable) oil, I’ll be using coconut
oil. Since I want the tropical scent of coconut oil to linger in this body
butter, I intentionally did not add any essential oil. Although coconut oil has
a pretty stable shelf life, I also added Vitamin
E – an antioxidant that will slow down the rancidity rate of vegetable oil.
Rancid oil doesn’t smell good and we definitely don’t want smelly body butter!

Combine the coconut oil and shea butter in a heat-resistant container. Place the container over a small pot of simmering water (a.k.a. double-boiler/water bath method). Over low heat, stir until the shea butter has completely melted.

Cover the container either with aluminum foil or kitchen paper towel and place it in the freezer to set. The cover makes sure that no water drips into the mixture which can contaminate the body butter.

Once the mixture is semi-solid in texture (not too hard, ideally you should still be able to make a dent with a finger), remove from the freezer. Add the vitamin E.

Using a fork/wire whisk/electric mixer, mix the shea butter mixture until creamy in texture (consistency is like whipped cream).

Transfer the body butter into a clean container and store in cool, dark place.

The butter is ready for mixing/whipping once the texture is semi-solid (can still make a dent with a finger)

Tips

After
placing your mixture inside the freezer, make sure to check it every now and
then because if it gets too hard, then it won’t be possible to whip it.

If
the mixture did get too hard, then simply put back the container to the pot of
simmering water to soften it a little.

If
you want an extra fluffy body butter, then you need to use an electric mixer
instead of manually whipping the butter using a wire whisk.

The extra virgin coconut oil can be bought in any supermarket. I bought mine from Landmark Makati.

Vitamin E capsule can be bought from any drugstore. I bought mine from Watsons pharmacy.

There
you have it, your very own body butter at a fraction of the cost of
store-bought version. Again, this body butter is a little bit greasy so I only
use it at night in place of body lotion. The shea body butter is really effective
in moisturizing the driest parts of my body (e.g. soles of my feet, elbows,
etc.). Since it doesn’t contain water, the body butter will last for about 6
months. In future DIY projects, I’ll try to formulate a non-greasy body butter
(probably the emulsion type) so watch out for it J

P.S.
To always get the latest blog updates, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook.

Disclosure:This post contains
affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and
purchase the products, I’ll receive some commission.

Imagine
a world without sugar – there would be no chocolates, ice creams, cakes and
other sweet treats. Life is so boring without those sweet desserts most
especially to people who have “sweet tooth” like me. This is the reason why
refined white sugar is an indispensable condiment that is added to almost all
food and drinks. The common white sugar is a crystallized sucrose that is
extracted either from sugarcane or sugar beet. It has undergone refining and
bleaching process in order to remove impurities and to produce a bright white
color sugar that is more visually appealing to the consumers. However, when a
sugar is refined, its beneficial nutrients are also stripped away leaving us
with a sweetener that doesn’t add any nutritional value to the food or drink it
has been added to.

Consuming
too much refined white sugar can have a negative impact to our health like
diabetes and obesity. Having too much sugar in the body can cause blood sugar
spike and if we don’t have enough insulin to metabolize the sugar, the sugar
will be stored as fat in our body which can lead to gain weight. That is why it
is very important to choose natural form of sweeteners that will help you
satisfy your sweet cravings in a healthier way.

1. Coconut Sugar

I’m
a big fan of anything coconut so it’s no wonder that when I learned about
coconut sugar, I didn’t think twice to try it. Coconut sugar comes from the
liquid sap that is collected from the flower buds of the coconut palm trees. The
liquid sap is boiled until all the water has evaporated and what is left is the
dehydrated coconut sugar.

Coconut
sugar is naturally brown in color and has a similar taste and smell to brown
sugar. Since it is less processed than regular white sugar, it retains most of
its nutrients like iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. It also has a low
glycemic index (GI) so it will not elevate the blood sugar level as much as
white sugar. You can easily substitute white or brown sugar in recipes with
coconut sugar in 1:1 ratio (e.g. 1 tsp white sugar = 1 tsp coconut sugar).

Honey
is one of my most favorite natural sweeteners. I usually use it to sweeten my
tea without the grittiness of the white sugar. Honey is a sweet substance that
is produced by bees by collecting nectars from flowers. Raw honey contains
vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.

Do
you know that pure honey doesn’t spoil? It’s because of its antimicrobial and
low pH (acidic) properties which make it very challenging for bacteria to
survive. So if you are into preserving fruits (a.k.a. fruit canning), you can simply
replace sugar with honey. Since honey is a lot sweeter than white sugar, you
just need to use less honey in place of sugar.

It’s
very important that what you buy is organic, pure, raw honey and not honey that
is mixed with corn syrup. Check the product label and make sure that you will
only see one ingredient listed – 100% pure raw honey. Also, among all the
natural sweeteners in this list, honey is the only one that is not considered
as vegan because it is produced by animals (bees).

Where to buy pure raw honey in the Philippines

Milea Bee Farms Pure Raw Honey is available in various sizes at their official
Shopee shop

3. Stevia

Do
you ever wonder if there is a way to add sweetness to your food and drink
without the extra calories? The answer to that question is yes and it is made
possible through stevia. Stevia is an all-natural sweetener that is derived
from a South American plant that is known locally as “sweet herb”. It has zero
calorie and zero glycemic index (GI) so it is suitable for people with blood
sugar issues. Don’t confuse it with other zero calorie artificial
sweeteners like sucralose (e.g. Splenda), aspartame (often added to zero
calorie softdrinks) and saccharin.

Stevia
is 200 to 400 times sweeter than white sugar so only a small amount is needed
to achieve the same level of sweetness as sugar. In fact, the US Food &
Drug Administration (FDA) mentions that the recommended daily intake of stevia
should be no more than 9 packets a day. The only downside to using a zero
calorie sweetener is that it has no nutritional value.

Stevia
is also heat-stable so you can easily use it in any kind of recipes, even in
baking that requires high temperature. Another plus factor is using stevia in
your sweet treats will not cause tooth decay.

It’s
important to note that there are several varieties of stevia-based natural
sweeteners and not all of them are approved by FDA. So far, the two brands that
are approved by FDA are Truvia and PureVia.

We
are all familiar with the sweet maple syrup that we often put on top of
pancakes. However, maple-flavored pancake syrups that we bought from the
supermarket are really not derived from maple, rather they are just corn syrup with
artificial maple flavoring, so make sure to check the product label.

Authentic
and 100% pure maple syrup contains vitamins and minerals. In fact, 100 grams of
maple syrup contain 28% zinc and 165% manganese of the recommended dietary
allowance (RDA). Maple syrup comes from the sap collected from maple trees that
are native in Canada. There are two major grades of maple syrup. Each grade has
different color and intensity of flavor. Grade-A maple syrup is both light in
color and flavor, it also resembles the flavor of artificial maple syrup. On
the other hand, Grade-B maple syrup has darker color, thicker consistency and stronger
flavor. Take note that whichever grade of maple syrup you buy, it is twice
sweeter than white sugar so you should use less during substitution.

About me

Hi! I’m Melody – a nerdy Software Engineer who can’t live without her lip balms and body butters. Join me on my blog as I gradually make my transition from using chemical-laden to all-natural beauty products.